


And I Wonder

by shahondin



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Kindergarten Teacher Chan, M/M, One Night Stands, Single Father Minho, Strangers to Lovers, baby jeongin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:28:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28752930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shahondin/pseuds/shahondin
Summary: Chan was in the process of cleaning Mina’s nose when the new child arrived. He doesn’t see the toddler’s wide eyes looking around the room full of kids, though. He also doesn’t see the way the little boy clutches his father’s T-shirt in his tiny hands. No, Chan is way too busy freezing on the spot like an idiot because of the man holding the boy in his arms - the father.“Chan, meet Minho and Jeongin,” Seungmin announces, oblivious to Chan’s arising inner panic.orAfter their one-night stand, Chan didn't expect to see Minho ever again. What happens when he turns out to be a single father of a boy in Chan's kindergarten group?October Sparkle Minchan Fest prompt 17
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 32
Kudos: 281
Collections: october☆sparkle: minchan ficfest





	And I Wonder

**Author's Note:**

> I read this prompt and I just had to write it! Really, there was no choice!
> 
> Special thanks to my beta for helping me out <3

When Chan thinks of an evening well spent after a stressful day, he thinks of lazing around on the couch with his favorite fluffy blanket, a cup of warm tea and some sweets while watching a new show on Netflix or reading a book; preferable romantic comedy. His second to best option would be taking care of his potted plants while listening to relaxing music. Some evenings he even finds joy in doing yoga. 

So really, he doesn’t know why he’s outside, on a Friday night, past 10 p.m. Maybe it has something to do with the still packed moving boxes in his tiny flat. Perhaps it’s because of his neighbors drilling holes in their shared wall. 

Either way, Chan found himself wandering around the quiet streets for quite some time now, no planned destination in mind. At first, he was strolling around the river for a while, but the breeze got too chilly so he decided to head to the food stalls nearby and to roam around the streets after that. It’s then, about half an hour after he had eaten a steaming cup of ramen, that Chan feels thirsty.

His flat is quite far away and there is no convenience store nearby so he enters a club. Really, that’s the only reason why! Not because of the surprisingly good music or the happy faces of people mingling in front of the door. And definitely not because of that handsome guy and his friend passing Chan and entering the club right before his eyes.

Seriously, that would be ridiculous. 

Inside the bar, the music is loud but not unbearingly so. There are lots of people dancing on the dance floor in the middle of the club. Lights illuminate the room with colours, following the beat of the music, creating an atmosphere that pulls Chan further inside. He easily finds his way to the bar and orders a glass of soda to quench his thirst. He orders a second glass and heads to the sitting booths at the side to absorb the positive energy surrounding him.

Now that he’s tucked away in his own corner, he lets himself lean back and relax for the first time this month. Ever since he left Australia four weeks ago, he hadn’t found a minute to rest. His days were packed with filling out papers, unboxing his moving cartons, buying and assembling a bed and a simple drawer, as well as running around nonstop at work. 

He loves his profession. He had always enjoyed working with kids so it was only natural for him to study to become a kindergarten teacher. He’s got a few years of work experience under his belt already and can confidently say that this job was made for him. When the opportunity arose to work at a kindergarten here in Seoul that partnered up with his previous work place, Chan was first to volunteer, eager to get more experience and expand his horizon. 

And he likes his new workplace as well. 

Even if his colleagues are seemingly asking him to pointlessly run around in circles. Even if he’s forced to jump between the different groups of kids several times a day. Even if he has kitchen duty everyday. That’s... That’s only because he’s new. It will pass and he will be able to work as well as he did in Sydney. One of his colleagues greeted him this morning, surely things will be looking up soon.

“Do you mind if we sit here? The other booths are already quite packed.” A female voice pulls Chan out of his thoughts all of a sudden. He whips his head up and stares at the young woman that just talked to him.

“Yeah, sure.” He nods and returns the smile she’s sending him. A second later, she and her friend slide into the booth across from Chan and start talking to each other. The moment he realizes the women keep on leaning closer and closer to each other, Chan downs the rest of his soda and gets up to give them more privacy which, in return, results in him awkwardly standing close by the bar where he puts his empty glass down. 

He should head home, it’s late already. 

He should, but he doesn’t because _Dancing Queen_ starts playing and there’s no holding back once ABBA is on.

Chan steps into the large group of people jumping around and turning in circles. He closes his eyes and lets the music take over him. 

Song after song plays and Chan is so lost in dancing that he doesn’t notice time passing by. What he notices, though, is the handsome guy from earlier gravitating closer to him with each passing minute. Or maybe it’s Chan who’s approaching him. 

It doesn’t really matter because the stranger smiles when _Walking On Sunshine_ starts playing and Chan knows he will never forget this moment. The young man laughs, slightly throwing his head back as he does. He puts his hands in the air and wiggles his hips - it’s hilarious. Chan joins him in a matter of seconds. They goof around for half of the song until the other guy’s eyes glint dangerously as he starts dancing in earnest.

_Who would have thought you can dance to this song in such a sexy way._

Once the song is over, a gaping Chan gets pulled to the edge of the dance floor by a firm yet gentle hand on his wrist. “Can I get you a drink?” 

“Ah, I don’t drink.” Chan scratches the back of his head. “Doesn’t taste good.”

There’s an unreadable look on the guy’s face when Chan looks up. God, he’s embarrassed. The guy must think he’s a baby. 

“You don’t drink? Like ever? Wow. I can’t imagine going a day without a glass of water or something.”

Taken aback, Chan’s mouth hangs open again. Well, that’s not the reaction he expected. “Are you making fun of me?”

The guy narrows his eyes, taking a step closer to Chan so their chests are almost touching. He’s so close that Chan’s brain is on the verge of short circuiting. “Well, I’m certainly thirsty right now.” He bites his lip and winks at Chan before turning around and gently pulling Chan to the bar. 

Chan never heard such a bad attempt at flirting before. It works nevertheless. 

-

Neither of them bother to turn on the lights. The moonlight filters through Chan’s barren windows, illuminating the room with a soft glow that’s enough for Chan to perfectly make out the small moles and little imperfections on Minho’s skin. Though, those little scars here and there are nothing but other beautiful details Chan discovers that night. 

“Are you done staring?” Minho laughs lightly, his voice deeper than Chan heard before. He doesn’t wait for Chan’s answer as he pulls up the hem of Chan’s shirt until he’s able to throw it next to his own on the floor. 

A fleeting spark of insecurity shoots through Chan’s body, causing him to look down and hide his face behind his bangs. 

“Don’t.” Minho’s voice is nothing but a whisper, barely audible, but it’s enough to let the nervousness ease off his mind. Chan takes a deep breath and raises his gaze, his eyes meeting Minho’s gentle ones. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Actually, I’m quite pleased with what I see.” And there it is again, the teasing smile that promises something exciting, something Chan will think about for a long time.

Chan awkwardly clears his throat. He raises his hands to Minho’s waist but drops them before he meets skin. He tries again, this time reaching out to lay his hands on Minho’s shoulders which seems slightly less nerve wrecking. Before he’s able to do so, Minho grabs his hands with determination and places them on his hips. He wraps his own arms around Chan’s neck and presses their bare chests together.

Warmth. So much warmth. 

Chan feels a kind of security in Minho’s embrace he hasn’t felt since he was a child. His mother used to put him to bed with a song on her lips as she tucked the blankets around his small frame.

The feeling shifts as soon as Minho connects their lips in a sweet kiss that turns hungry in a matter of seconds. He nudges his tongue against Chan’s lips that part as soon as he realizes what Minho wants to do. 

He gets so lost in the feeling of Minho taking everything he wants without hesitation, while still holding him like he’s something precious, that he doesn’t notice when his back meets the soft bed sheets. What he does notice, however, is the moment the last remaining piece of his clothing is pulled from his body in a swift motion. 

Minho pulls away from Chan’s mouth, giving him room to breathe, and molds his lips against Chan’s neck instead, undoubtedly leaving more than just one bruising mark behind. 

Chan can’t take it anymore. His hands trace every patch of skin in his reach with a sense of urgency that suddenly builds in his stomach. Minho doesn’t mind. He moans his approval hotly against Chan’s already heated skin and leans into the touch like a cat would. 

“Chan…” Minho whines quietly as Chan’s hands ghost over his jeans-clad thighs. “Please…” 

And who is Chan not to listen immediately? He quickly zips Minho’s jeans open and shoves them down, pulling off the underwear too. With the last layer of fabric between them gone, Minho’s body is flush against his own, hot and hard but soft and tender at the same time. It drives Chan crazy. 

Propping himself up on his elbows, Minho’s face hovers above Chan’s. His eyes sparkle in the shimmering moonlight and Chan knows he would do anything Minho asks of him at this very moment. Minho doesn’t ask, though, not with words at least. He straddles Chan’s hips properly and grinds down, making Chan’s hands fly to his waist in order to guide Minho against his aching need. 

“Let me take care of you.” Minho murmurs right against Chan’s lips. The kiss swallows the needy sound that wants to escape Chan’s mouth as one of Minho’s hands reaches between them where Chan is throbbing painfully. 

The rest of the night passes in a blur from then on. Chan remembers breaking the kiss to get the bottle of lube and a condom. He remembers Minho’s eyes turning glassy in pleasure as he sank down on Chan’s cock, his fingernails leaving angry red marks on Chan’s shoulders. He remembers the almost unbearably pressure filling every millimeter of his body, ready to burst any second. 

And he remembers the moment he finally lets go, the moment Minho whispers soft words of affection against his skin. He holds out until Minho is spent, breathing heavily, his body wrecked receiving wave after wave of pleasure. 

Chan vaguely registers himself getting up to grab a damp towel to clean Minho and himself up. He feels like he’s in some kind of pleasure induced trance as he stumbles through his flat and back to his bedroom where Minho is huddled under his blanket.

Unable to resist the comfort the sight in front of him promises, Chan slips under the sheets as well and presses up against Minho’s back. He slings both arms around Minho’s middle which earns him a satisfied hum. 

Chan falls asleep in a matter of seconds. 

-

When Chan blinks awake the next morning, he’s feeling more relaxed than usual. The sun is already up, casting a soft light through the window. He stretches his body, still lying in bed, joins cracking as he moves his arms over his head to touch the wall behind him. _This is going to be a nice Sunday._

Pulling himself upright, Chan smiles at nothing in particular. He’s about to get up when his eyes fall on a piece of clothing he doesn’t quite recognize. 

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Startled by the sudden sound, Chan whips his head around and freezes. There, in his door frame and dressed in one of Chan’s hoodies, stands Minho with his hair tousled. 

“Yeah,” Chan says dumbly as the memories of last night rush back. Soft kisses… Heated touches… The sparkle in Minho’s eyes as he-

“Are you okay? I hope you don’t mind that I took this.” Minho points down at the hoodie he’s wearing and tilts his head in question.

And Chan… Well, Chan does the only logical thing he can think of; blushing furiously. 

“Can you stop being cute for a second and come eat breakfast?” Minho asks with a sweet smile and turns around to leave Chan alone to fight his racing heart, trying to calm it down again.

What has he gotten himself into?

The peaceful morning doesn’t last long, unfortunately. Chan is in the process of shoving the best scrambled eggs he’s ever tasted into his mouth when an unknown tune fills the apartment. Minho shoots up from his seat across from Chan with a startled expression and runs into the bedroom to retrieve his phone.

He’s back by the time Chan cleared his plate. 

An uneasy feeling pools in Chan’s stomach when he notices Minho changed into his own clothes. “You have to go?”

Minho nods in passing, a deep frown adorning his face. “Yeah… I… Sorry…” 

“Don’t worry about it.” Chan tries his best attempt at a smile that drops as soon as Minho closes the door behind himself. He didn’t even say goodbye.

Last night and this morning were too good to be true. Why did Chan even think Minho would like to stay longer and spend the day lazing around… Or returning to bed for some activity… And yet… 

It’s not like Minho owns him an explanation, but Chan can’t help but feel sad about the fact that he didn’t get a reason why Minho left so suddenly. What’s even worse, he has no way of contacting Minho because they didn’t exchange numbers.

Chan lets himself slump into the couch with a groan and closes his eyes.

-

“It’s nothing personal, really. We just think you’d fit better into the new building,” the principal says with a fake smile. “We already packed your stuff. You just have to go to House B. Have a nice day.” She shoves a box into Chan’s hands and returns to her spot behind the computer.

Chan is too stunned to say anything. He knew his colleagues didn’t like him a lot but this… This feels like they complained about him to the head of the kindergarten so he’s forced to leave… 

House B… He heard about it in snarky comments and nasty remarks. The building is way smaller than this one and only contains two groups of kids, the youngest from birth up to the age of 3, which isn’t bad by any means but apparently the three kindergarten teachers chosen to work there are incompetent and strange. 

Sighing, Chan grabs the box tighter in his hold and makes his way across the street. 

-

The Ladybugs are easy enough to find. There aren’t many doors in this building after all. Chan hears happy laughter and soft music even before he enters the room. And sure enough, once he’s inside, he’s greeted with the sight of a bunch of small kids jumping around and laughing while an adult sits in between the chaos on the ground with an amused smile on his face. Chan clears his throat to gather his new colleague’s attention which works just fine. The man looks over with a slightly confused but friendly expression.

“Good morning! How can I help you?” He stands up to walk over to Chan.

“I’m Chan. From House A?” He sounds incredibly unsure, even to his own ears.

“Chan! Of course!” The man smiles even wider. He’s about to say something when a sudden cry interrupts their conversation. “Oh, Chaeyoung, did you bump your head?” He’s kneeling on the floor next to the crying girl in no time, soothing her with a gentle voice. She stifles her cries and reaches out for the man to hold her. 

“Sorry, where was I?” He returns his attention to Chan. “Ah right! I’m Seungmin. Are you over here to say hello or…” He waves his free hand around while the other one holds the girl secure on his hip.

“I was told to work here.” Chan still feels a little bit uncomfortable. Surely, he must be intruding.

Seungmin, however, seems to think otherwise. “Perfect! You can leave your stuff in the teacher’s room. I’ll show you around once Jihyo arrives.” He points down the hallway and regards Chan with a warm smile before turning around to settle a dispute that just broke out between two boys. 

Chan wastes no time in doing as he’s told. His uneasiness disappears in a matter of minutes once he’s back inside the room. The kids surround him immediately, showing him their favorite toys and crawling onto his lap to get a better look at him. Seungmin is an angel who explains everything there is to know about this house and the kids, as well as Jihyo and Momo who’re the teacher of the Butterflies. In the mornings, there’s only one teacher there to take care of the toddlers from both groups. Around breakfast time, a second teacher joins in because by then most of the kids have arrived, and afterwards they split the groups again. Seungmin had been alone with 8 kids in his group for some months now so he’s relieved that he now has another teacher by his side.

The day passes in a blur of laughter, runny noses, drool, spilled water, full diapers and lots of warm hugs.

Seungmin’s shift ends around the same time as Chan’s so they drop off their remaining three kids at the Butterflies’ room and leave soon after, walking down the street side by side.

“So... “ Seungmin starts, fixing Chan with a questioning look. “Why did they let someone this great go?” 

Chan splutters. “Someone what?”

“Oh, come on!” Seungmin chuckles. “You’re a great kindergarten teacher. I’ve seen the way you handled the poop disaster over at the Butterflies after nap time! Jihyo said if I do anything that leads to you leaving us, she’ll put purge in my food for the rest of the year!”

Shaking his head slightly, Chan looks at the ground to hide his reddening cheeks. The unusual compliment makes him feel embarrassed. “I can’t picture her threatening someone.”

“Seriously, though. We’re glad you’re here.”

-

“So I kinda forgot to tell you something important,” Seungmin says instead of greeting Chan a few days later. 

“Shoot.” Chan sits down cross-legged only to be thrown to the ground when Hyunjin and Jisung barrel into him with surprising strength for two year olds. The boys giggle when Chan picks them up with one hand each and sits them down on the mat behind him. They run off again with way too much energy at 6 in the morning.

“These two.” Seungmin shakes his head with a fond smile. “Hyunjin is always so hyper when he’s next to Jisung.” 

They both watch said boys press their faces against the mirror on the top of their indoor playground, leaving a trail of snot and drool behind that either Chan or Seungmin will have to clean as soon as they get the chance to. 

“We’ve got a settle in starting tomorrow,” Seungmin says eventually. “Single father with an almost 1 year old boy. I’ll talk with the dad today and settle the documents and stuff.”

“So they’ll be joining the group tomorrow?” Chan concludes. 

“Don’t worry. The boy is sweet and the father is nice. It won’t take long today but if you need a second pair of hands or eyes, Momo said you just have to shout and someone will come over,” Seungmin shrugs and that’s that.

-

Chan was in the process of cleaning Mina’s nose when the new child arrived. He doesn’t see the toddler’s wide eyes looking around the room full of kids, though. He also doesn’t see the way the little boy clutches his father’s T-shirt in his tiny hands. No, Chan is way too busy freezing on the spot like an idiot because of the man holding the boy in his arms - the father.

“Chan, meet Minho and Jeongin,” Seungmin announces, oblivious to Chan’s arising inner panic. He has a hard time making the corners of his lips tug up in an excuse of a smile.

Minho’s face, on the other hand, doesn’t show any sign of recognition. He looks at him with an expression appropriate to meeting your child’s kindergarten teacher - a polite smile. Chan swallows down the bitter feeling in his mouth and tries to be the professional he is, standing up to greet Minho properly. 

It’s strange to go on with his day with Minho sitting in a corner of the room and soothing Jeongin from time to time when the loud group of kids gets too overwhelming for the toddler. All in all, Jeongin’s first day was a success and soon enough, roughly an hour after they have arrived, the two leave again. 

Once the children are sound asleep in their beds after lunch - even Jisung who cried because he doesn’t like nap time is now cuddling with his plushy, blissfully asleep with a drool stain on his bedsheet - Chan has time to think about what just happened. After days of trying and failing to forget Minho, said man arrives out of nowhere at his work. 

_You’ve got to be kidding me..._

Chan doesn’t know if he should be glad Minho is professional about this or if he should be angry. It really was just a one night-stand after all. The thought hurts. It hasn’t felt like that. He knows he sounds like a hopeless romantic but the night they shared with each other felt like so much more than just satisfying their needs.

However, if that’s what Minho wants, Chan will be just that. Jeongin’s kindergarten teacher. And nothing more.

-

“Why don’t you talk to him?” Seungmin asks the next day after Minho and Jeongin left. He doesn’t look at Chan while he rummages through their art supplies.

“I thought that he was perfectly fine with mostly talking to you,” Chan shrugs, feeling guilty because Seungmin noticed.

“Well, he was staring at you pretty intensely earlier.” Seungmin turns his head so Chan can see him raising an eyebrow. Before Chan gets the chance to answer, he continues. “Of course you didn’t notice because you were making eggs and stuff in the kitchen. Cooking like a chef and all.” 

“Excuse you, I’m good at cooking toy food in the doll’s kitchen!” Chan snorts, pointedly ignoring the first part. 

“Maybe you should let Minho try next time.” Seungmin’s eyebrows do a weird dance. Chan has the urge to put tape on them so they stand still. Something about his thoughts seem to show on his face because Seungmin raises his hands in defence. “Anyway, I have to go to the office to fetch some documents tomorrow so you have to welcome the grownup Lee and little Lee.”

“Sure, no problem.” 

He can do this. He just has to ignore the way his heart starts racing when he looks in Minho’s direction. No biggie. 

-

“Can’t you wear the same shirt as yesterday?”

Minho turns around to send his friend slash roommate a death glare. 

“I mean, he doesn’t even look at you so I’m sure he won’t notice you wearing the same shirt two days consecutively.” 

“I don’t even know why I bothered to ask you in the first place.” Minho rolls his eyes and turns back to look inside his wardrobe. So much clothing but nothing to wear. 

“Just take the white shirt with those thin black stripes. Casual but still good, you knoooow.” Changbin stresses the ‘o’ as he yawns, making Minho feel slightly bad that he woke up his friend because he almost had a breakdown over his outfit. 

Who is he kidding? It’s not about some stupid pieces of fabric… It’s because of that damn kindergarten teacher who more or less ignores him. Minho is at a complete loss of what to do. 

The day he had to leave Chan’s place was because Jeongin hit his head on a table and wouldn’t stop crying, even though Changbin tried his best to make him feel better. Still, Minho felt like he made a mistake. Of course, his little boy was - and will always be - his first priority but still… He should have left his number or asked Chan for his. Then again, Chan didn’t make any move to do so himself.

Maybe Minho came off too strong. He still curses himself for wearing Chan’s hoodie and invading his kitchen unasked. He didn’t really think it through, it just felt right. But he can see why that put Chan off. 

He was shocked when he saw Chan at the kindergarten, his heart skipping at least two beats before he was able to school his expression because _what the fuck??_

“Just talk to him.” Changbin startles Minho out of his thoughts.

“And what should I say?” He finally puts on the long-sleeved shirt Changbin recommended.

“Oh Chan, please kiss me again.” Changbin gives a poor imitation of Minho’s voice. “And then fetch me up in your strong arms and we’ll live happily ever after!”

“Oh and by the way, I have a kid. Hope that’s no problem.” Minho finishes the fake scenario his friend made up with a deadpan voice. 

Changbin stands up from his spot on Minho’s bed to squeeze his friend’s shoulder with a reassuring smile. “Exactly.”

-

_”Just be natural. Natural. Smile. Don’t forget to smile!”_ Minho chants in his head like a mantra. Jeongin wiggles in his arms as he carries him through the hallway, eager to finally get down on the ground and crawl in the direction of the toy cars. 

Once Minho opens the door, though, the mantra stops mid-sentence. Instead of Seungmin greeting him with a smile, Chan stands up to wish him a good morning with a forced friendly expression. 

Minho lets Chan take Jeongin in his own arms, reminding himself that Seungmin does the exact same thing every morning. Jeongin doesn’t seem to notice anything about the uneasy mood surrounding both adults. The boy giggles when Chan greets him and wraps both chubby arms around his neck.

Of course, his child loves Chan. Of course he does. 

“Should I…?” Minho waves his arms around, unsure where to sit and what to do.

“Just sit in your spot for now. In about 20 minutes you’ll have to say goodbye to Jeongin and leave for 10 minutes.” Chan explains as he walks over to the toy cars to put Jeongin down. Sure enough, the toddler grabs the red car with sparkling eyes to show it first to his father and then to Chan before he slides it over the ground. “You can either take a small walk or sit in the teacher’s room. And please, don’t come in even if Jeongin cries. We’ll try to soothe him on our own. If that doesn’t work, we’ll call for you.” 

Minho gulps. Not because Jeongin might cry because Minho’s not there. No, he doesn’t really worry about that because he knows Jeongin is in good hands. He has seen both Seungmin and Chan handle all the kids. He has a lump in his throat because Chan doesn’t even look at his face while talking to him. 

“Okay.” He croaks out and sits down on the ground. After a moment, Jeongin crawls to a quiet boy nearby who’s looking at a picture book in concentration. He tries to pull it out of the boy’s hands, causing a small ruckus as said boy cries out. 

Chan is quick to intervene before the weeping starts in earnest. “Hey Jeongin, Felix is reading this book right now. Do you want to look at it together?” 

Jeongin looks at Chan with big eyes and makes grabby hands at the book. The boy, Felix, lays the book on the ground in front of them and says “Together!” with a big smile.

Minho spends the remaining time observing Chan reading the book out loud with Jeongin sitting on his lap and a small group of children surrounding them. The kids point at the pictures at certain parts in the story with great interest. 

His heart clenches painfully as he watches Chan imitating animal noises and different voices as he reads. 

-

On their way back home Jeongin doesn’t stop babbling. The boy chatters away in that unique language only babies and toddlers possess. Minho, the attentive father he is, asks Jeongin questions from time to time or makes little noises to show him he’s still listening. He’s saying “an” a lot of times. Minho doesn’t even try to fool himself. Jeongin is obviously talking about Chan.

-

“Da.” 

“I don’t know about this.”

“Da ah!”

“You really think that could work?”

“Uh.”

“If it doesn’t work… Will you get me out of that situation?”

“Yam yam.”

“Of course I’ll give you your favorite snack afterwards.”

“Da.”

“It’s a deal then.” Minho grins at Jeongin as he unbuckles his son from the baby seat in the back of his car.

It took Minho an entire week to get himself together and finally confront Chan about their situation. More precisely, finally planning to confront Chan.

Taking a deep breath, Minho steps into the kindergarten to drop Jeongin off. He’s no longer in the group room so he has to say goodbye to his little one in the hallway and let either Seungmin or Chan welcome Jeongin with an embrace. It’s Chan most of the days and if it’s Seungmin who’s closer to the door, Jeongin wiggles and murmurs unhappily until Chan takes him.

As usual, Minho doesn’t stay long in the mornings, he has to get to work after all. When he comes back to pick Jeongin up in the afternoon, however, he usually exchanges a few words with Seungmin about Jeongin’s day while Chan is busy with the other kids. Today, things will be different, though.

Seungmin told him yesterday he won’t be present this afternoon because of an appointment so Minho would have to go to the Butterflies where Chan and his group joined Jihyo and Momo with their kids. 

Minho steels himself as he gently knocks on the door. Sure enough, Seungmin is nowhere to be seen. Neither are Chan and Jeongin though.

“Uhm.” Minho says dumbly as he looks around the room.

“Try next door. Chan is changing diapers.” Momo says in a cheerful voice. There’s a twinkle in her eyes Minho isn’t sure how to interpret. 

After excusing himself, Minho carefully opens the door to the bathroom. “Hi there.” 

Chan startles badly but still holds a secure hand on Jeongin’s belly so he wouldn’t accidentally fall down from the baby’s changing table. “Stop laughing, Jeonginni!” He pouts at the little boy gleefully giggling. It apparently doesn’t help as Jeongin doesn’t stop laughing.

“Sorry.” Minho scratches the back of his head. He can’t help the grin on his face because of the hilarious expression on Chan’s face - wide eyes and a mouth that’s opening and closing like a fish’s. After a second, Chan seems to collect himself and continues changing Jeongin’s diaper with practiced moves, murmuring under his breath while Jeongin babbles. 

Now or never. “So uh…”

“Jeongin’s bed needed new sheets. I put the dirty ones in his bag. It’d be nice if you could wash them soon.” Chan buttons Jeongin’s onesie up as he talks. “He just ate lots of fruits and veggies so he should be good for now.” He finishes dressing Jeongin and picks him up again. 

“Yeah, okay.” Minho takes Jeongin and greets him with a kiss to his forehead. Jeongin’s smile is all it takes for Minho to gather his courage. “Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?” He rushes the words out but Chan still seems to hear him just fine judging by his suddenly stiff posture.

“I don’t like coffee, sorry.”

If that doesn’t scream rejection right in his face, Minho doesn’t know what else would.

The following awkward silence stretches on. Minho should probably go. “Okay… Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Minho is about to turn around when Chan speaks. “How about dinner, though?”

A surprised smile tugs on Minho’s lips. “Sounds perfect!”

-

“Yam yam!” Jeongin squeals in pure delight as Chan sets down a big bowl full of ice cream on the table. He makes grabby hands at the spoon with a determined frown, concentration written all over his face.

“Don’t put too much in his cup. He never eats it all.” Minho says while pulling the spoon closer so Jeongin can grab it easily. Chan has to bite his tongue. He knows that. Jeongin has been one of his kids for several months now, after all.

“Of course.” Chan responds with a soft smile while dutifully handing Jeongin his own cup. 

It’s nice, sitting together in the comfortable warmth of Chan’s flat while the rain hits against his windows. Chan still can’t believe he’s able to spend his days like this… 

Their first date was a disaster - Chan spilled his coke all over himself _and_ Minho, his card was declined several times so Minho paid in the end and, to top it all, Minho got a call that his friend had to hurry Jeongin to the hospital because the toddler stuck a marble in his nose. Needless to say, Minho was a mess after hearing the news so Chan drove him to the hospital where a sheepishly smiling Changbin was awaiting them with a sleeping Jeongin in his arms. 

Since then, they decided to spend most of their time in a set of three. Chan doesn’t mind it one bit. He adores Jeongin and the boy seems to like him just as much. They do get their sweet time alone more often than not because, as it turned out, Changbin can be trusted with babysitting when Seungmin is right beside him.

“Aaaaah~” Minho opens his mouth wide, lowering his head so Jeongin can feed him a dripping spoon full of strawberry ice cream. Well, the toddler attempts to aim at his father’s mouth but fails and smears streaks of pink all over Minho’s face. And Chan has no choice but to take a picture, the biggest smile resting on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Like what you read? Please, consider leaving a comment and kudos if you did! <3
> 
> Just so you know, I plan on adding drabbles to this because I can't let go of this little family;;;
> 
> Talk to me on Twitter @neomuyoo if you want to~


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